All Chapters of His To Have And To Loathe: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Niko's POVI was in the middle of bench presses in my home gym, trying to burn off some steam before tonight's dinner, when Ivan knocked and walked in."Some things arrived for Sophia Rossi." He looked at me like I had somehow become Sophia. Or should I say, my wife. The same woman who had accused my oldest friend of being a traitor.My nostrils flared at the mere thought of her words. She had no idea what she was talking about.I'd admit, my anger might have gotten the best of me, but Sophia had a way of infuriating me like no one else, while affecting me in a way I just couldn't bring myself to comprehend."How about you give it to her then?" I grunted, pushing the barbell back into the rack. "What should I do about the cat?""What cat?" I froze in place"Uh…this one?"My whole body snaps up, and my eyes instantly land on a pet carrier with what seems to be a small white cat behind the bars."What the hell..." I take a deep breath. How has she managed to piss me off twice in one da

Nikolai's POVThe night was going according to plan. My men sat around the table, wine flowing, and just the right amount of fear beneath all the socializing. Yet, something felt different, and I knew it before I thought about it.It was because she was sitting right by my side.Sophia. My fake wife looked far too good in that black dress. I had to remind myself that it was all pretend. But not every part of me had gotten the memo.She looked good in that black dress. It hugged her body like it had been made just for her.The neckline plunged so far down that I had caught some of my men staring. Just one warning look from me was enough to make them back off. Then there was the red lipstick. My God. My mind wandered to our kiss. After she left the gym, I felt as though I had lost all sanity.Petra’s gaze stayed heavy on me. I hadn't forgotten how disrespectful she had been to Sophia. She was starting to become a liability.“Enough personal matters,” I turned my attention to the me

Ch 15Nikolai's POVJack was waiting in the hallway, his demeanor carrying the same sense of urgency as his voice when he came to my door a couple of minutes earlier.“Two men. East fence. Armed.” He gave a quick debrief of the situation.I hated leaving Sophia by herself. I thought about her an unhealthy amount. The way her voice had softened when she told me to be careful. That fucked with my head more than anything Moretti could throw at me tonight.But there was no time for weakness tonight.I pulled my gun out from the holster at the side of my waist. “Are we sure it’s Moretti's men?”“Positive. They tried slipping through the blind spot near the old service road. The boys spotted them before they could get close.”“Take Petrov and three others. Bring them back alive. I need answers.”We moved out of the house with our guards up. Every step calculated, and our guns locked and ready to go. I could hear the low voices of my guards already in position. But somehow, everything in me

Sophia's POVHis words hit harder than I thought they would. It was impossible to ignore just how tense the air between us had gotten. Nikolai's voice came out dangerously low, as though he was on the edge. His dark eyes drilled a hole into my skin. There was an intense feeling attached to it that left me feeling unsteady. It didn't help that he was standing so close to me that I could feel the heat from his body all around mine. I refused to back down, even though my pulse screamed at me to flee the scene. "Worse?" I whispered, my voice trembling with a mix of anger and anguish. "How could it possibly get worse, Nikolai? You've taken everything from me. My family, my home, my freedom, any chance of having a normal life. It's all gone, all because you decided to use me as some sort of messed-up chess piece in an absurd game I have nothing to do with. And now you stand here, telling me I can't even see my father? Do you not see how messed up that is?"I had used up all my breath. H

Sophia’s POVI let out an indignant scoff, the mere sight of Petra set my blood vessels on fire.“I don't have time for this.” I shook my head as I folded my arms across my chest. “I do not have time for you, Petra.”She let out a cold, calculated laugh. If I didn't have any self-control, I'd lunge at her without a second thought. “Nik is mine, you know that, don't you?” She sneered at me.“So you say Petra.” I put on a blank smile, “Yet here you are…”“Yes. Here I am.” She took calculated steps towards me. The sound of her heels echoed against the floor, like she had a bone to pick with me. Her icy eyes never left mine, and although my heart raced, my eyes never left hers either. It was a cold battle between us, and neither of us was prepared to look weak.“What do you want, Petra?” “I want you to know, he's mine.”“This isn't the eighteen hundreds, believe it or not, I'm not interested in whatever weird thing you have going on with Niko.”“Nikolai.” She corrected me sternly.I l